Banking: City of London, Lax Regulation, Fraud Haven, London like the Caymans

"London is basically like the Cayman Islands...except without such nice weather," says Marc Hochstein of American Banker.

  Hochstein says the City of London financial sector is viewed as a "supine regulatory jurisdiction".

  American banks like to outsource operations to London. Hochstein says it's no coincidence London sits at the heart of many recent bank and brokerage scandals and massive finance institution failures.

   AIG-FP, Bernie Madoff's 'Ponzi' fraud, MF Global's failure, JP Morgan Chase's 'London Whale' losses, and manipulation of the key London Internank Offered Rate or LIBOR, all featured London-based operatives and offices.

  "London is viewed as a haven from regulation," adds Hochstein.

Paul Coleman, London Intelligence, March 2013